Survey and Appraisal of Chute and Chute Forest Parishes 1984
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I j I SURVEY AND APPRAISAL OF CHUTE AND CHUTE FOREST PARISHES 1984 -, .~ SURVEY AND APPRAISAL OF CHUTE AND CHUTE FOREST PARISHES 1984 ., t " CHUTE AND CHUTE FOREST SURVEY AND APPRAISAL 1984 The Main Study GrouD Liz Barker Bennett Barbara Brown typing Rosemary Casson Chute Forest Parish Council Audrey Cherrington Brian Edwards Rowena Gale Secretary Jim Gale Pat Hing .. Jean Husk Chute Parish Council/Study Group Leader Elizabeth Penman .. Soecial HelDers (Delivered and collected the Questionnaires) Beryl Abbott Marion Banwell Mary Brown Jim Buchanan Elaine Crowther Brian Edwards Janet Kleboe John Penman Margaret Pike Helen Taylor A. ~ecial "thank you" to Mr. and Mrs. Nash and Mrs. Haines, who spent time allowing me to "tape record" their personal reminiscences of the Chutes as it was in their young days. Other people too ha ve been generous with bits and pieces of recent history and suggestions of where I might "dig" for more. I wish it could have all been put in this survey -maybe a book will get written one day! Another special "thank you" to Les Tobutt, who found fossils and pieces of Romano-British tile. Thanks are also due to Hewlett-Packard Ltd. for the use of their word processing and laser printing equipment. Jean Husk - . ,. Introduction Village Surveys and Appraisals have been carried out all over England since Parish Councils were recommended to do so after the reorganisation of District and Rural Councils in 1974. The'Surveys were and are seen as a means of providing valuable local information for the more distant District Councils and an opportunity for the residents of parishes and villages to get to know more about each other as well as their localities. , During the last 20 to 30 years village life has changed more dramatically and faster than ever before; the impact on rural life of changing populations and "commuter" lifestyles, as well as modern machinery-dominated agricultural practices, has sometimes been overwhelming. Ch.ute and Chute Forest Parishes are very typical examples of the changing country scene; still trying desperately to keep hold of at least part of the old values and scenes while appreciating what's good about modern living as it is today. 'As- Chute and Chute Forest share so many of the amenities, it seemed a good idea to make the survey a joint effort. Both Parish Councils had a representative on the Study Group and Chute P.C. also gave financial assistance to the project. Because of the scattered and straggling structure ,of the villages the Stl!dy Group decided that iJ might as well cover the entire Parishes and not just the villages as far as possible with the limited resources available. ' Each member of the Study Group took up one or two particular aspects or topics dealing with conce1'ns relevant to the Chutes and then researched them. The Survey Questionnaire was then compiled on the basis of the information so gained. A decision was made to distribute the questionnaires on a household basis, Le. one questionnaire per dwelling house, mainly on the grounds of 'resources and cost; one per person would have been a mammoth task and probably quite beyond our resources in many respects. An exception was made with respect to young people of 16 and under; we felt that it was very important that they should put their own point of view forward on an individual basis. The response was very gratifying. A decision was also made to keep the whole thing as anonymous as possible and we hope this has been accomplished. The topics researched as being relevant to the Chutes and on which the Survey Questionnaires were based are as follows: Studv GrouD Member TODic Elizabeth Penman Education Jean Husk Population, General Features, History Rosemary Casson Leisure and Skills Audrey Cherrington Industry and Business Enterprises Pat Hing Amenities .. Brian Edwards Transport Jim Gale Environment Liz Barker Bennett Chute Lodge History The Survey Questionnaires were delivered and collected during June 1984. They will be parcelled up and sealed, kept for two years in case any verifications are needed, and then destroyed. HISTOR Y This can be only a very brief outline of historical events that have had an impact on the Chutes. In n-o way can it be regarded as complete but as much has been included as possible, even to the inclusion of at least a couple of local legends. People have lived in this area since prehistoric times and have left their signatures on the landscape. One of these is part of the great ditch (Gryms Dyke) that forms the North Western and -part of the Northern boundary of Chute; it is believed to have been built in Bronze or Iron Age time and once also formed the frontier between the Saxon Kingdom of Wessex and the British Kingdom of Dyonait (King Arthur ?). It was finally broken at Old Sarum where the fortress was stormed by the Saxons. Other signs of habitation are the Bronze Age and Iron Age burial mounds (tumuli) near the ditch in Chute; pits that might once have been dwellings or grain stores; pot boilers (stones that were heated and then put into cooking pots); old plough lands and systems that can be seen at Shaw Bottom and opposite Dean Farm (Lynchett strips). Ev~n older have been several finds of fossilised sponges and the tooth of a large bottom feeding fish. which existed about 130 million years ago when this part of the world lay under the great white sea (a thick soupy mixture of tiny sea plants and animals which eventually became laid down in the form which we now see as chalk). The Roman invasion made the first great mark on the area. One o( their trade routes from Portesmutha (Portsmouth) through Wintancaestir (Winchester) runs through Conholt Park then takes its unique curve round Hippenscombe valley and goes on to Bedwyn. Mildenhall and Cirencester. At Scott's Poor (see Andrews and Drury's map of 1773) it became part of a great junction of drovers' .roads: which were part of the trade and travelling routes before the Romans came. i.e. the tin road from Cornwall. the gold road from Wales and the 'green' or drovers' roads. Weyhill and its Fair were another great junction of roads in pre-Roman times and some of our oldest lanes may well have been routes to Weyhill. and Chute a convenient night stop or camp before the final drive down to Weyhill. Chute is on the route of an ancient Ox Drove and it is believed that Shepherd's Cottage at Upper Chute was originally a drover's hut. The settlements continued to be worked and occupied during the Roman occupation and some grew into sizeable (for those days) farms and villages near the Roman roads. Small fragments of Romano British clay tile have been picked up at Green's Farm in Upper Chute which seem to indicate a small settlement in about 300-400 A.D. .In the year 650 A.D. a battle was fought between the Saxons and the British on the slopes somewhere near what is now Dean Farm and Chantry. It was called 'The battle of blood field'. Various weapons have been picked up there at different times. During King Alfred's reign the land around this district was owned by Wulfris, the King's Horse Thane (equivalent to a Cavalry General). Wulfris was also Warden of the Welsh Marches. When William the Conqueror ordered an inventory of his new Kingdom (The Domesday Book) villages were grouped into administrative districts called Hundreds, which in turn formed regions .. in Shires or Counties and these still exist today with a few minor changes. Chute (or Standen as it was then called) and Chute Forest came within the Kinwardstone Hundred. One or two historians say that the so-called 'Devil's Stone' in the great pit on the Causeway is the 'Kinwardstone'. It is a Sarsen or 'Grey wether' stone. Wether is an old English name for sheep and in Wiltshire (Fyfield Down near Marlborough, for instance) many lie on the surface of the downs and can look like a flock of sheep. King William rewarded his followers with the lands of the old English nobility. The translated entries in Domesday for Standen (Chute) and Chute (Forest) are as follows CHUTE FOREST Entry 1-19. Collingbourne (Ducis) Earl Harold held it. It paid tax for 20 hides. Land for 45 ploughs. In Lordship 5 hides; 5 ploughs; 12 slaves. 49 (Villagers) and 26 Smallholders with 15 ploughs; Meadow, 20 acres; Pastures 2 leagues long and one league wide; Woodland 1 league long and as wide as the third part of the woodland known as Chute. The value was 5: 40 ; now 5:60 . One half hide belongs to the Church. Gerald the priest of Wilton holds the tithe of this Church. Value 10s. The Church is derelict and dismantled. Chute Forest was then presumably a part only of the great arc of hunting forests which included Savernake. CHUTE. Entry 25-7. Benzelin holds Standen from Arnulf. Britric held it before 1066; it paid tax for 2 hides. Land for 2 ploughs. In Lordship 1. A mill which pays 6s. Meadow 4 acres; Pasture 3 furlongs long and 3 wide; Woodland 3 furlongs long and 1 furlong wide. Value 40s. A 'hide' was a unit of land reckoned at 120 acres. An' old windmill stood opposite the Cross Keys Inn at Upper Chute for many years. In 1882 it was purchased by the then Landlord (a Mr. George Andrews) together with 5 acres, 2 rod and 3 perches of land for £260.